SINCE 1977 RAINBOW PARK NURSERIES HAS BEEN GROWING PLANTS AND TREES FOR NEW
ZEALANDERS. OUR REPUTATION IN THE MARKETPLACE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF; SYNONYMOUS WITH STRONG,
ROBUST AND EXCEPTIONAL-QUALITY PLANTS.
Rainbow Park Nurseries has two specialist nurseries. There is a dedicated house plant
nursery and one for specimen trees and shrubs. Our house plant nursery grows indoor and
outdoor plants and vegetables, while our tree nursery specialises in large and
specimen-grade trees, shrubs, fruit trees and a large selection of native and exotic
trees. We supply garden retailers, florists, landscapers, developers and other retail
outlets across New Zealand.
The essence of Rainbow Park Nurseries is reflected in our core brand, Enrich with
Nature. All our plants and trees are dispatched and branded with Enrich with Nature.
Nestled beneath the Bombay Hills in South Auckland you’ll find Rainbow Park Nurseries Ltd, home to one of the country’s most technologically advanced nurseries. A team of around 70 professional horticulturalists work around the clock to monitor plants, maintaining the highest standards of plant production and care.
A FAMILY BUSINESS
Rainbow Park Nurseries (RPN) was founded in 1975 by Peter Tayler as a family business. With a horticulture degree and a dream to own his own nursery, Peter took over a nursery in Mount Wellington. From humble beginnings and his savvy horticulture knowledge, he first started growing begonias, ferns and cyclamens, personally delivering them around Auckland. As the business grew, the Mount Wellington site was swapped for the current location in Ramarama. Now, RPN supplies over 1.5 million plants to retailers across the country from our 15-hectare state-of-the-art nursery.
Peter's son Andrew was inspired by his father and shared his passion for plants. He started working at the nursery, initially during school holidays and then went on to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science degree at Massey University. Now the General Manager of RPN, Andrew has worked in the business for over 22 years. “I enjoy working with our customers to develop new products. Through our extensive network of overseas suppliers, we are able to offer the market new genetics and concepts which have been very well received.
“My other passion is the technology and computing innovations available to our industry and integrating them into our business. These innovations have enabled us to grow our business, become more efficient and make our company a more rewarding place to work and a more sustainable company.”
ENRICH WITH NATURE
The essence of RPN is reflected in our core brand, Enrich with Nature. To Enrich with Nature is to create, relax and enjoy through the medium of plants – all the products you need to create a tranquil retreat, a vibrant entertaining area or to screen the neighbours. All RPN plants and trees bound for garden retail outlets leave the nursery proudly sporting an Enrich with Nature label.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The surging popularity in gardening has seen the company invest in a significant expansion to a total of three hectares of heated glasshouses. A further 10 hectares is under outdoor production, growing specimen trees and shrubs. The company uses Priva Environmental Computer Software to manage all aspects of climate control, watering and fertigation in its glasshouses and container nursery.
With a rapidly expanding business and the need to plan accurately to meet customers’ requirements, the company has implemented a sophisticated production planning software package from Europe. This investment was seen as a critical step in meeting the demands of customers for certainty of supply.
With sustainability at the forefront, RPN’s investment in new glasshouses has led to best practices; reused and recycled water, less fertiliser, controlled spraying, and even biodegradable pots made by an in-house paper pot machine.
“Everyone likes to be clean and green - but there are benefits also. We don’t use as much heat, natural gas or other resources to heat the buildings because the computers can make adjustments based on the outside temperatures and light levels.”
A recent innovation has seen our nursery partner with local business Future Post to reduce plastic waste. Future Post repurposes this waste material and turns it into posts. Check out this clever business for yourself www.futurepost.co.nz.
Today, the team at Rainbow strives to find creative and innovative ways to grow plants and trees of unfailing quality. Plants not only have a huge and beneficial environmental impact but they also have many health benefits.
Watch this interesting video from ASB Farmsmart:
PLANT SELECTION AND WORLD-CLASS BREEDERS
RPN continues to invest and seek out the best generics and new and exciting plants. A constant renewal programme of stock plants from world-class breeders ensures that all our plans are high-health, disease-resistant and vigorous. Close connections have been formed with world-renowned breeders enabling RPN to grow and supply the latest varieties of strong, uniform, colourful and quality plants to New Zealand consumers.
DEDICATED FLEET OF TRUCKS
RPN has a fleet of trucks and experienced dedicated carriers. Plants are carefully loaded onto industry-standard trolleys to ensure they are delivered in the best possible condition.
Every RPN truck driver is trained to professionally carry and deliver living plants from as far north as Whangarei and as far south as Wellington. Their priority is to take expert care throughout the delivery process to make sure plants always reach their destination in excellent condition. RPN also uses other specialist plant carriers for goods freighted to the South Island.
What We Do
We grow plants and trees!
We grow a wide range of indoor plants, flowering and foliage, perennial plants, vegetables and fruit, shrubs and specimen trees.
Our heated state-of-the-art glasshouses enable the production of tropical plants including Phalaenopsis Orchids, Anthuriums, Bromeliads, Peace Lilies, Begonias, Hibiscus and tropical foliage. We also produce perennials including New Guinea Impatiens, Petunias, Hydrangeas, Geraniums, Calla Lilies and Dahlias.
RPN’s tree nursery produces shrubs, specimen, native and exotic trees in containers from 10 litres up to 800 litres on our modern 10-hectare container nursery.
Our customers include all the major retailers, garden centres, florists, councils, landscapes and developers.
We work with our customers to forecast demand and plan our production to meet their demand for retail sales through to large-scale city developments and urban gardens.
RPN has an extensive range of ceramic pots for indoor plants. These ceramics fit our pots perfectly and come in a variety of styles and range in size from 9cm to 17cm. These are available at garden retailers nationwide.
CONTRACT GROWING
We have the capability and flexibility to contract-grow plants and trees from cuttings, seeds or tissue cultures through to finished products as well. With over 40 years in the business, we apply the latest technologies and call on expert knowledge from our horticulture specialists to fulfil orders. No job is too big or too small.
For information on contract growing, please call Sandra on 09 294 8771.
Company founder, business owner and Director. Peter has worked
tirelessly for over 40 years to build a productive business
from hand-delivering his first crop of cyclamens, begonias and ferns to
now having a fleet of trucks and carriers making these
deliveries nationwide.
“I am proud of our dedicated team and what our company has achieved
since its inception. I’m also extremely fortunate that Andrew had an
interest in horticulture and joined the business 20 years ago. Through
his hard work and drive, he has taken the RPN to a new level where it is
recognised as a leading player in the nursery industry.”
Andrew started at RPN 20 years ago after graduating with a Bachelor
of Applied Science degree from Massey University. He has worked his way
up and has in-depth knowledge of every facet of the business.
His marketing, computing and tech-savvy skills have been critical in
developing the modern and technically innovative nursery we have today.
He is at the forefront of the business, continually striving to improve
and grow the company to meet the demands of the market.
“Growing plants is a very rewarding business. We are extremely
fortunate to have a dedicated team of talented professionals who share
our vision and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the plants leaving
dispatch in peak condition.”
Sandra joined RPN in 2014 as a production coordinator. She brought
with her more than 10 years of horticulture experience. Sandra
methodically co-ordinates the RPN production schedule, tracking the
growth and quality of plants to ensure they are ready on time to meet
orders and advertising promotions.
She is our head office liaison and deals specifically with our
growing contracts, and is also responsible for our ceramic selection.
Cath commenced at RPN over nine years ago bringing with her a
creative flair from working as a florist and from agricultural farming.
Competent and capable, she works in the tree nursery and is the first
point of contact for landscapers. Cath thrives on the end-to-end nature
of her role, from watching the products grow to preparing them for
dispatch. “I pride myself on our quality products. I enjoy seeing big
orders looking great – all packaged and ready to be delivered”.
With over 15 years’ RPN experience as well as expertise as a plant broker and in horticulture work, Al certainly knows his stuff when it comes to trees. He is the Tree Nursery Manager and expertly manages all the outdoor crops for RPN. Al leads a team of over 14 nursery workers who propagate, maintain and monitor various tree blocks across the nursery.
Ray joined Rainbow Park Nurseries as the Operations Manager in April. Ray grew up in the Waikato and graduated from Auckland University with a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science with First Class Honours. Ray has 10 years’ experience working in pharmaceutical and dairy industries in senior operations and supply chain management roles. His background has brought some valuable experience to Rainbow, particularly in the areas of ERP, supplier management, manufacturing system and in improving our overall productivity. Ray’s key responsibilities include planning, scheduling and procurement of raw materials with a focus on delivering quality and consistent products to the customers.
Toni is our master accounts lady at RPN, joining the company in 1999. She deals with the accounts, payroll and everything in between. A driven and talented mum, Toni started off doing the accounts and undertook part-time studies to qualify as an Accounting Technician – all while raising her son. “I work with a great team of people, who are more like my extended family. We all pitch in and help to get the job done well.”
With 24 years at RPN under his belt, Brian knows the production process like no other in the nursery. Clearly passionate about plants, his role is all about plant management. Whatever needs doing, Brian is there guiding, fixing and adapting to ensure each plant grows and thrives before being dispatched. He leads a team of 14 nursery staff. As Brian says when anyone asks what he does, “I grow plants and people.”
Anna has worked in the business for 12 years. She meticulously co-ordinates the RPN truck fleet and authorised carriers for all nursery deliveries to ensure all plants are delivered to the right location at the right time. Anna oversees the order entry process and manages all the packing. She shares her brother Andrew’s ethos and is always ready to do what it takes to get the job done. Anna relishes the variety of her role - be it inside the nursery or out and keeping active.
Susan is one of two sales consultants. She joined RPN in 2012 and
brought with her a wealth of house plant knowledge. Susan’s customer
base runs from North and West Auckland, Taupo to Wellington and
Gisborne to New Plymouth. She provides first-class service to our
customers and is always ready to embrace new challenges and extend
her savvy technical skills.
Nirmal joined the RPN team in 2013 and has enjoyed a recent promotion to Production Manager. Nirmal graduated in 2009 from MIT with an Advanced Certificate in Production Horticulture.
Previously Nirmal worked at Turners and Growers and obtained extensive knowledge in glasshouse tomato production. After joining RPN, he has overseen the production and crop development in our new 1.5 hectare Apex glasshouse. Nirmal has embraced the technology involved in this state-of-the-art production facility and is passionate about growing quality plants to meet our customer’s needs.
Lisa joined RPN as the Administration Assistant in September 2021. Lisa plays an integral role of liaising across business channels for seamless processing of customer orders and store allocations. Lisa is the go-to ceramics extraordinaire, responsible for selection, importing and stock management.
Lisa has extensive experience in customer service and administration management. She thrives on challenges and is passionate in all things she does.
Lisa is enjoying growing her plant knowledge and has become a house plant enthusiast.
Andrew recently joined RPN as a Key Account Manager. Andrew brings over 25 years of retail garden experience to Rainbow Park from managing Garden Centres to buying for National Big Box Retailers. Andrew is our head office liaison and deals specifically with our growing contracts and is always looking to improve sales and profitability for both retailer and grower by being able to analyse sales from both sides. Andrew is always on the look out for new business opportunities so feel free to contact Andrew to discuss anything to help drive your sales.
CONTACT US
Rainbow Park Nurseries is a trade-only plant supplier to garden
centres, florists, major trade warehouses, landscapers, developers
and retail outlets across New Zealand. For trade-only enquiries,
please email us and one of our sales consultants will be in contact.
If you are interested in our range of house plants, shrubs or trees,
please visit www.enrichwithnature.co.nz
